


Stories

by Topographical_Map_Of_Utah



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Genre: F/M, Kid Fic, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 08:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13520856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Topographical_Map_Of_Utah/pseuds/Topographical_Map_Of_Utah
Summary: Kes and Shara come back home and Poe wants a bedtime story.





	Stories

"I want a story!"

"No, kid. It's bedtime..." Kes scooped Poe up and deposited him back in bed, sighing when he squirmed away again, kicking off his pyjamas. Not again. Keeping this kid in clothes was like trying to keep a Wookiee in them. "Hey..."

"That story wasn't long enough! It don't count as a whole story." Poe insisted, dancing around the room in his undies. "Please? Just one more story?"

"You said that two stories ago..." When that didn't coerce him Kes just sighed, blinking the sleep out if his eyes as Poe started bouncing on the bed, trying to touch the ceiling. He didn't even have the energy to try and catch him, frankly, and it wasn't like he could call for backup. Shara was already out for the count, sprawled over their bed in her flightsuit, probably still wearing her boots. Kes hated when she did that.

But to her credit, she had been the one who flew them home from base, basically a nonstop flight of at least six hours. Although Kes was pretty well convinced that putting Poe to bed was the tougher task. "You already had a story."

"But I want _another_ story." Poe declared, firm as ever. He set himself down at the foot of the bed, his hands folded expectantly in his lap, legs crossed and back straight. He had spotted Skywalker meditating like that one day, and now he had developed a liking for the position, replicating it wherever and whenever he could.

According to Poe, as he had been kind enough to explain one day as Kes was getting him dressed, if he sat like that long enough he would catch the Force, and then he would be a Jedi, and then he would join the Rebellion with his parents as a Jedi pilot, and then he would get a rainbow lightsaber because he didn't want to choose what his favourite colour was.

Kes had just nodded and continued to help Poe tie his shoelaces. The logic of a five year old would always be a mystery to him.

"Please? Just one story, then I'll sleep, I cross my heart..."

"Well..." Kes rubbed his face and sighed, looking out the window, watching the wind toss the trees, the spindlier branches being snapped off their trunks. Hopefully the gale would calm down by tomorrow morning; Shara had wanted to take Poe flying. "Why don't you tell me a story instead, buddy?"

"But I'm a kid! Grownups are s'posed to tell stories. I'm too little to tell stories. Nothing's happened to me yet that I can tell a story about..."

"Then make something up." Kes suggested, grabbing Poe around the middle and dropping him on the bed. He seemed inclined to stay put, at least. For now.

 _"Well..."_ Poe mimicked, drawing out the word for a good eight syllables, rolling back and forth on his Ewok bedsheets. Shara had bought them out of spite, Kes was sure of it. Those things scared the living daylights out of him. Made laundry day a struggle.

"Well, once upon a time there was a mommy and daddy and a kid. The kid was gonna be a Jedi! Or a pilot. Like his mommy. He didn't know yet. And, uh..." Poe screwed up his face, his lower lip between his crooked front teeth. "I dunno what happened next."

"Take your time, buddy." After dressing him Kes scooped Poe up and slung him over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, carrying him to his and Shara's bedroom, smiling at Poe's shrill shrieks and giggles, brightening the darkened hall. He tended to sleep better when he was cuddled between them, little attention seeker. "Any ideas?"

"No, uh...no, I know! So what happened was that the kid grew up, and he was a pilot! And he met Leia, and Chewbacca, and Han Solo. And then he went on missions with 'em to the Death Star and punched bad guys!"

To illustrate his point, Poe pummeled the air with his fists as Kes plopped him on the bed, his chubby face screwed up in concentration, not far from the look Kes saw in Shara's eyes when she aimed her blaster at oncoming troopers. "Yeah! And then, and then he punched Darth Vader right in the helmet!"

The idea was so exciting that Poe's voice rose to a high pitched squeal. Kes shushed him, sighing when Shara snorted and woke up anyways. She was a light sleeper; had to be, with the job she had. Couldn't be sleeping if the base came under attack or her squadron was called out.

"Geez, guys. What do I gotta do to get some sleep around here..." A smile flickered across Kes' face as Shara sat up, her hair a mess and eyes bleary. "It's like I'm at a damn fathier racetrack..."

"Language." Kes warned, untying Shara's boots and tossing them into the corner. "He's gonna inherit your potty mouth..."

Shara snorted and swat Kes' chest, letting Poe climb into her lap. "You sound funny when you sleep, Mama." he giggled, playing with the straps of her flak vest, tugging it loose.

"You saying I snore, kid?"

"You do snore." Kes laughed a little, catching Poe when Shara tossed him over and rolled out of bed. The kid was used as something of a football, sometimes.

"I don't snore." Even with video evidence she refused to believe him. "Now what happened to tucking this guy in?"

"He overpowered me." Kes kissed Poe's cheek and lay down, watching Shara pull one of his old shirts out of the dresser. He had bought her cosy pyjamas for her birthday, but for whatever reason she stubbornly stuck to sleeping in his oversized t-shirts. He would never understand it.

"You couldn't stand up to a five year old? Aren't you a soldier?"

"Some battles even I can't win, babe." Once she was dressed Kes uncovered Poe's eyes, making him giggle. "Hey, the little guy wants a story. Can you tell him something?"

"Hm..." Shara raised an eyebrow and lifted Poe over her head. "What kinda story d'you want, baby?"

"One about me! Because you always tell stories 'bout stuff you and Daddy do. And I don't ever do anything in 'em..."

"Fair enough..." Shara laughed and climbed back into bed with Poe tucked under her arm, arranging him and Kes under the blankets as she started the story. "So, once upon a time, there was a little boy. He was very bright, and brave, and very adventurous. When he grew up, guess what he did?"

"Did he...become a pilot?" Poe smiled hopefully.

"Mm. Just that. So one day, the very brave pilot was on a mission, and he met a very special someone."

"Who?" Poe's eyes went a little bit wide at the idea, his mouth dropping open. He was easy to entertain. And a bit lonely, but he was good at hiding that. "Who'd he meet?"

"His best friend." Shara said simply. "You wanna know how they met?" Poe nodded. "So, the way they met was  the bad guys had captured the pilot, when suddenly..."

With that she launched into a long, winding story, of noble quests, secret missions, and the blue flash of lightsabers and blasters. There weren't many details, no names or faces, but that didn't seem matter, the sense of wonder carrying the story through. Halfway through Poe's lashes started to flutter, but he doggedly fought to stay awake, prompting Shara when she hesitated, laughing when she told him about the heroes' successes and hushing when things got hard. Which wasn't often. Shara had edited a lot out.

"Now where'd you get that story from?" Kes mumbled, on the verge of dozing off. Poe had passed out, finally. It had taken a good twenty minutes of storytelling, though.  

"Half bullshit, half Force vision. Luke told me about it." Shara's lips quirked in a smile and she ran her fingers through Poe's hair, twirling it into corkscrew curls. "You think it's true?"

"Has he been wrong yet?" Kes asked. He pulled up the covers and sighed, closing his eyes and letting Poe use his arm as a blanket. "You sugarcoated it, didn't you?"

"A little bit." Shara admitted, smiling a little when Kes kissed the scar on her eyebrow. "He's too little to know..."

"I know, sweetheart." Even when they told Poe stories about what they had done with the Rebellion, they tied up the loose ends, brightened the grey area, defined the line between right and wrong, even when they themselves were uncertain. He would have to live with the bad when it came to him, no sense in jumpstarting that leap into reality. "So...that best friend you were telling him about, when are they gonna come along?"

"Gonna take awhile." Poe shifted in his sleep and they both looked down at him, waiting for him to settle. "Maybe gonna be a bit more than a best friend, according to Luke..."

"Slow down there. He's too young for that." Kes laughed and shook his head, letting his eyes flutter shut. "Y'know, the story he was telling me earlier sounded kinda similar to the one you were telling him. Only he was a Jedi in it."

"Yeah? You think he's got the Force? Or maybe that best friend does..."

At that, Kes could have sworn he felt his blood pressure go up. "Sweetheart, he's hard enough to handle as is. Don't go throwing Jedi shit into the mix..."

He had a feeling he wouldn't be all that lucky, though.

**Author's Note:**

> im in class and this happened idk


End file.
